Bus strike in Sea-to-Sky region sees plenty of frustration but little progress after 5 weeks

Myson Effa is giving the five-week-old bus strike in the Sea-to-Sky region two thumbs down — but for now he's also keeping one thumb up.

The 59-year-old maintenance and cleaning worker from Pemberton has no other way to get around, so now he's hitchhiking.

"I'm speaking to you while I'm sitting in the passenger seat of a kind person [who] gave me a ride," Effa said, speaking on his cell phone while getting a lift back to Pemberton from Whistler. "I'm comfortable hitchhiking, but a lot of people are not.

"It's a really significant issue."

Effa's common-law partner, Manuela, is one of those people not comfortable with hitchhiking, he says. She also works as a cleaner and rode the bus until the strike began.

"Some days she's literally spent a hundred bucks on taxis," Effa said. "And she's also dropped some cleaning jobs. If she's going to have to pay 35 bucks for taxis and the job's under 100 bucks, that's not really worth doing."

Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton Valley bus services stalled on Jan. 29. The bus drivers' union says workers are seeking better pay as they struggle with high costs of living while making less than Metro Vancouver drivers.

As the strike's fifth week concludes, there are few signs of progress.

Mayor 'out of patience'

Effa blames B.C. Transit for the strike. He wants to see the workers' demands met right away.

"I would like to have the buses on the road, but it's not going to happen if the drivers are being offered the same old raw deal," he said.

"I think they could easily be asking for a cost of living allowance that would be greater than Vancouver or Victoria because the cost of living's so much higher in Whistler."

Whistler Mayor Jack Crompton, however, wants to see both sides start talking again.

"They need to get back to the table. The employer and the union appear to be unwilling to sit down and work out an agreement," Crompton said. "I don't understand how an unwillingness to talk serves drivers or serves the company. It certainly doesn't serve our community."

He said the strike isn't just an inconvenience: it's led to more drunk driving and hitchhikers walking dangerously on the highway since the job action began.

"Our community and our council are incredibly frustrated," he said. "And personally, I've run out of patience."

Over a week since sides met

The employer and the union last met Feb. 24.

B.C. Transit is responsible for bus services in the Sea-to-Sky but contracts those services out to two subsidiaries of private bus company Pacific Western. B.C. Transit says it is monitoring the situation and hopes parties resume discussions soon.

"B.C. Transit sincerely apologizes to customers for the inconvenience caused by this ongoing matter," a statement to CBC read.

Pacific Western, in a statement from last week, said it presented a generous offer to the union.

"Unfortunately, the union rejected the offer," the company's statement read. "They did not present a counter-proposal and declined to present the offer to their members for a vote."

Unifor western regional director Gavin McGarrigle says the employer is simply "playing games" and avoiding serious discussions.

"The employer's drive for profit is short-changing front line public transit workers and the communities who rely on transit," McGarrigle said in an email to CBC.

Labour Minister Harry Bains says his ministry has been watching the situation.

In an email, he said a mediator has been appointed by the Labour Relations Board.

"We are hopeful the parties can resolve their dispute by getting back to the bargaining table as soon as possible," Bains said. 

"Our government fully supports the collective bargaining process, and it is important to let that process continue without interference."